38 Weeks & STILL Counting....

I wanted so badly to title this post, "38 Week & Misserable...." Ugh. That's how I'm feeling right now. Our sweet little girl is out of room, making me very uncomfortable, and I'm just beyond ready for her to be here. So is her daddy!!!

38 weeks, 5 days pregnant.
Casey and I went on a date (hoping it would be our last for a while), thanks to our amazing friends Lacie and Chris Bryant; and while there I realized I was almost done with the 38th week and needed a picture. Also there, Casey and I partook in the spiciest Thai food EVER!! We got our usual, a two and a four, and WHOA- they were both more like twelves!! That didn't stop us, though, we both devoured our plates AnD an appetizer. Woo! As we got the check I had the strongest, most intense contraction yet.... I couldn't breath it hurt so bad (in my back). I was thinking it was the real thing, but nope, of course not.... here we still sit, today, at 38 weeks and 6 days.

At our appointment today we got the news we were hoping wouldn't be true. I think I previously mentioned that 90% of people who have LEEP's do not dialate on their own. My doctor said I could be having contraction after insane contraction and still be sitting at a 2, because the scar tissue is doing its job- to keep everything tight and closed. As of last week she didn't think I would have this problem and would hopefully be part of the 10% who can completely dilate normally. Unfortunately, I am not. :( She felt the scar tissue today and said it's definitely doing what we feared- not letting my cervix contract. Boo. So what this ultimately means is that I'll be in full blown active labor, still sitting at a two, but still be 'paper thin' as she put it, and then within seconds my cervix will FINALLY give way and I'll be at a 10 like that. AH! Go from a 2 to a 10 within seconds?! YEP! So she said to have EVERYTHING ready, because we soon as this happens we will need to be at the hospital. Eek. Why can't I just do something normally?? Geez! Well, it is what it is- so we came home and packed and double packed and are ready to go whenever Isabella decides she's ready. We are beyond ready and are hoping this comes sooner than later. Wait, did I already mention we are beyond ready for her to be here? Oops. Sorry for repeating myself, but we are!!

This picture was posted in our doctor's room today... thought it was fitting and would share.

Well, my sweet husband is in the kitchen making us potato soup (my favorite) and it smells amazing! Mmmmmmm! I'm off to go devour a bowl. Or two. Hopefully our next post will be complete with pictures of Izzy. ;) 39 weeks tomorrow!!!!

* * Merrrrrry Christmas * *

Broono tucked under the tree with care... and to guard the house from Santa!

Merry Christmas Eve!! We just got in from looking at Christmas lights ~ Casey with his yummy, amazing coffee, and me with my hot chocolate!! Mmmmm!! (If you can't tell- I can't wait to have coffee again- but because it has been so long, when I have it now I'm awake for days!)

Hope you all have an amazing and blessed Christmas. This year we have been blessed more than we could ever imagine! XoXo

37 Weeks... AlMoSt there!!!

This week started off great ~ our church had the first annual 'Hideous Christmas Sweater Contest.' Thanks to momma Mobbs for the great add-ons!

My hideous Christmas sweater ~ again, thanks to momma Mobbs for mailing it to me!

Broono helping us fold laundry

All day Tuesday, Miss Isabella decided to be lazy and stop moving ~ after doing everything we could think of to make her move, we called labor and delivery and they said, "You've done everything we'd have you do, and more, so come in for monitoring." Well, within 5 minutes of being on the monitors little miss was making big fat liars out of us. HA! We couldn't believe it, but were so thankful, of course. They had me on the monitors for 20 minutes to check her heart rate and my contractions ~ her heart rate was perfect and she's getting oxygen in her blood- so it couldn't have been better... then the doctor said, "You've had several contractions while we've been monitoring you, can you feel them?" I told him I knew I'd had some off and on for days- but had no clue they were that often and close. Because I had an apt the next day (Wednesday) and wasn't so completely uncomfortable they opted not to check out dilation. They also did an ultrasound to check Izzy's fluid levels- and everything was great there, too; right where it should be.

The next day was our 37 week, 6 day appointment. There we found out I'm 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced! WoW! Those contractions have been doing something! As my doctor put it, "She's definitely doing what she can to work her way out... It could happen at any time!" (At my last apt she said because of the scar tissue I have from my LEEP that it may be near to impossible for me to dilate on my own (infact, 90% of women who have had LEEPS are unable to fully dilate on their own), but she thinks I'll be golden ~ we shall see!)

I'm getting more and more uncomfortable everyday and am soooo ready for her to be here, but am really hoping and praying it'll be sometime after Christmas!!

**Casey is out snowboarding today; I'm home drinking hot coco and watching "The Santa Clause 2 & 3" and cuddling with our sweet pups. Casey has called twice to make sure I'm okay and that 'nothing is happening just yet.' ;) 38 weeks today!!
Merrrrrry Christmas Eve Eve everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

36 Weeks & Bama Christmas Party

36 Weeks Pregnant ~ Not much longer!!!!

Don't you just LoVe Casey's fabulous Christmas sweater?! All the guys from M-Div wore Christmas sweaters... there were some A*MAZING ones!!!!

Tonight was the Alabama's Christmas party... we ended up having a blast (which was a surprise to us both, haha) AnD won a XBOX 360 and Kinect system!!! The 'prize' table was out for everyone to look at ~ and I joked with Casey at the very beginning of the night about how fun it would be to win the system. Well, as they were calling off names for the prizes Casey said, "That's what you said you wanted, right?" and I said, "Yeah, hahaha!" and the next thing we heard was, "And the winner is... Bolin!" Casey jumped up and cheered and ran up to get it... meanwhile, two wives on either side of me leaned over and said, "I'm so sorry!" I just laughed, because I think I wanted it more than Casey did-- Have you seen the commercials for it; it looks so cool! We have the Wii, but get so frustrated with it not picking up the remote. So cool! And it was my very favorite price ~ F-R-E-E!!

Casey has the next four days off (this is how they bribed the guys to go to the Christmas party) ~ So tomorrow (Friday) we are going with some friends to Ikea (it's all you can eat meatballs-- Grosss- but the boys are so excited). Then Saturday Casey is going snow boarding for the very first time ever!! I'm so excited for him, and really wish I could join him on the mountain; there's always next year! Hopefully I can somehow get some pictures of him to post for you all to see... I know he'll pick it up super fast (being as athletic as he is), but it'll be fun(ny) to watch him get the hang of it. ;)

35 Weeks & Our Newest Yummy Obsession

First and foremost- we are beyond obsessed with these amazing things. I don't even know the last time I've had bacon- I do know it has been YEARS, just not sure how many. PLEASE try them ASAP; pleaseeeee!! With a cherry on top... and sprinkles... and lots of chocolate fudge sauce... mmmm- that sounds yummy, too! Man, I'm totally the fat preggo lady these days, who thinks only of food. Oh well- I have less than 5 weeks to use this excuse, might as well while I still can! ;)

35 Weeks ~ Belly button sticking out in all its glory....

35 Weeks side shot (obviously)

Living Room Window....

This is a continuation of my post from 30 minutes ago... Casey got a good picture of the living room window on my phone ~ So here it is! Remember the old curtains?? We think they had to have been original with the house- from the early 90's. This is definitely more 'us!'

33 & 34 Weeks

33 Weeks (Wearing my 'Jo' nail polish!)

This is the very beginning of the 'snow storm' that had most of Bremerton/Silverdale without power for three days. Our power never went out, which is a miracle in itself, because we've talked to people that live within blocks of us and they lost power. Base was closed down, so Casey got to stay home and play, bake and watch movies with me! We made the most of our days together, but were sooo ready to finally get out of the house 3 days later.

Honey I Shrunk the Curtains!!!! We were puppy sitting and poor Moose had an accident; the curtains absorbed most of it ~ So we took them down and washed them. I sewed the bottoms that needed to be fixed, Casey rehung them and boom-- They shrank in the drier!! Casey and I were on the kitchen floor laughing ~ it was sooooo funny looking!!

The day after Thanksgiving JCPenny had this gorgeous curtain rod on sale for $20 - originally $100- so we snagged it up and Casey hung the new curtains and rod. This picture doesn't do it justice- it looks like a millions bucks! (We have really hated the curtains that were in the living room and kitchen since we moved in, so this was something we wanted to do anyway- Moosers just hurried us along. For the living room we got faux white wood blinds and a black scarf and a green scarf... (LOVE a great sale!!!) and that window also looks GREAT, but the picture of it is horrible, so I'll have to get that later.)

Totally random, but these are two of the little things in life that make me happy - A great pair of gloves (they make me feel hard core) and this awesomely amazing gray nail polish. The picture makes it look purple, but it's gray... it's awesome. Also makes me feel and look hard core. Yes, I'm hard core. Rar. ;) Casey likes it, too.

34 Weeks ~ About to leave for Thanksgiving dinner ~ I look and feel like I'm about to pop- and this was before all of the glorious food!!

34 Weeks Side Shot

My amazing cousin Kerra & I ~ and FOUR sweet babies. Kerra is exactly 4 weeks behind me (she's 30 weeks here) and our baby's birthdays are most likely going to be veryyy close ~ it'll be so fun to go visit their family and get all the kids together. She's having two boys and a girl (their names are a suprise!) ~ so it's great- 2 girls to gang up on the 2 boys.. hehe!

The baby daddies showing off their bellies, too.

Happy Thanksgiving from Casey, Kat & Isabella!

Our Christmas Tree

We hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving. We are SO thankful to be able to join the Tibeaus for holidays and gatherings ~ they have made living here, so far away from our immediate families, so much easier and more fun! They're amazing!! (And the food... MMMMMMMMMMM.... Kerra made the best pumpkin cheesecake I've ever had... and Casey has had about 12 helpings of Martha's turkey and dressing.... So yes, we love them all, AnD the food is a HUGE bonus!!) XoXo

31 & 32 Weeks

31 Weeks

31 Weeks

Side-note: For my birthday (which was more like Christmas!!) my amazing brother got us a joint birthday/3 year late wedding present... From the beginning he said he wanted to get us something awesome- and has been waiting to find just that... well, he did- and then some... He got us a vita-mix blender!!!!! We've used it everyday since we got it for smoothies (it makes the best smoothies ever- better than the local places that charge $5.00+ for a smoothie)... It's soo super healthy- and best of all it's super yummy!!!! Last night I used it to make our soup for dinner... we're so hooked- I would HIGHLY recommend them. Yes, they're very pricey, and I actually thought my brother was crazy for thinking a blender could be so amazing- but he was SOOO right!!! LOVE it!!

*Among the TONS of A*MAZING gifts I received; Casey got me a Canon Rebel AND the coolest digital photo frame to display all our pictures (which we know will be of Izzy and the pups). It was SO amazing to hear from everyone that day- my heart was bursting with love. You all made my day!!! :)

Melissa & Devin made me this beyond delicious cake ~ and isn't it just gorgeous?? The writing was all Devin- so super impressed ~ AND it tasted better than it even looks, which is hard to imagine, I'm sure. Mmmmm!
They also got me four amazing nail polishes from zoya.com, but the picture of them won't load right... So I'll just tell you ~ All of their polishes are named after women names- They got me 'Isabell', 'Kat', 'Jo' and 'Casey.' How cool is that?!? Sooo much fun- and they're such great colors!! Such a great gift!

Ok... back to Izzy....

32 Weeks

32 Weeks

My 32 week check-up was supposed to be just a normal, make sure everything is good, listen to Izzy's heartbeat and go appointment; but my doctor is just so amazing ~ She got out the ultrasound to see how Izzy was positioned and spent the next 10-15 minutes watching her suck (she has the sweetest little lips) and trying to wake her up. Our little girl is such a great sleeper-the doctor kept poking and poking her with a stick and she didn't wake up! She rolled over, but that was about it!! She's head down, everything is looking great and we are right on track. I say 'we' because I had a minor panic attack when I saw I'd gained a total of 28 lbs so far!!!!!!!!!!!! The poor nurse said, "Well, you are wearing jeans.." They don't weigh THAT much, lady!! So when my poor doctor came in I immediately said, "I've gained 28 lbs, is that ok?? There's no way that's normal!!!" And she said, "Yes, for your BMI you're right where we need you to be, it's perfect." How is gaining 28 lbs in 32 weeks healthy/normal?? But she said it is, so I'm trusting her... mostly.... ;) Along with all this weight gain, my back (which has always hurt from having scoliosis) has been bothering me more and more and more and more... It hurts to walk, sit, lay... anything. Such a huge bummer. Casey says all the time, "I just wish Izzy could be here already!!" HaHa- I couldn't agree with him more - We're SO anxious to meet her, obviously, but I'm soo ready to feel 'normal' again.

Sorry this post is all over the place... If I wouldn't take so long between updates I know this wouldn't happen. Thank you all for your love on my birthday, your continued prayers for Izzy and your love for our family. You mean more to us than you know. XoXo

Isabella's Room Reveal!!!!!!

Broono & Ginger are proud to announce that Isabella's room is complete!!!!

Broono is EXHAUSTED!! (As he sleeps on my birthday present box ~ Casey got me a Canon Rebel!!! More on that later...)

Our sweet little girl has more clothes than we do! These are just her newborn-six month dresses and such... the dresser is full of onsies and another adorableness!! We have been SO blessed!! Can't wait to dress her in it all!!

Her two car seats ~ She's set!! (Thanks to Aunt Mandy & Uncle Devin and Aunt Melissa!!)

The glider and quilt my 2nd grade teacher (Beth Winikie) made for Isabella and a shot of the two wall colors.

The oak dresser that Casey painted white! (It used to be Amanda's and had the N*SYNC character sticker residue still on it... hahahaha!) This picture doesn't do it justice... it looks A*MAZING!!

A horribly unclear picture of the wall and stencil.... will get another asap.

Isabella's A*MAZING bedding!!!!!!!!

Stencil over the crib ~ L-O-V-E it!

Her crib and bedding are just perfect... love it all!

View from the door; walking into the room.

Window valance is up ~ and so super adorable, don't you think?!

Over the closet doors....

Closer up.

Dresser and wall hangings complete!!

I really feel that these pictures don't do the room justice, it's just so sweet and better than we had even planned!! Also, we have decided to do the stars in stencil, as well, so those are ordered and we are just waiting for their arrival. We will still have each person (who wants to, of course) apply their star and write her a message on it if you want... then when we take them off to move we'll make it into a book ~ Thanks to my mom's genius idea!!! :) We really love her room ~ Please come see it in person!!

29 & 30 Weeks

29 Weeks

30 Weeks

Expect Isabella's room reveal tomorrow!!!!! :D Can't wait to show you all ~ just going to say... it looks A*MAZING!!!!!!!

28 Weeks

Wearing Casey's clothes, again-- they're way more comfortable than my clothes!

28 week side shot- requested by my loving, little sister who thinks it's great fun to see and make fun of how huge I'm getting.

Ahh- THE pregnancy line!!

WOOHOO- 28 weeks down- 11 to go!! Ahhh! Sooo scary, and soooooo exciting, all at the same time!
Yesterday I had my glucose test, which went way better than I had imagined. No gestational diabetes for this girl!! WooHoo! I had the glucose test and my regularly scheduled doctor appointment (which went great- nothing new to report, except that I've gained TWENTY pounds so far!! AHHH!!! And that my cervix is staying closed, which is obviously great- so she said just keep doing what I've been doing, because it's obviously working!! WooHoo!!) both yesterday-- and at my appointment they gave me some paperwork to fill out and to bring to the admissions office in the hospital so everything would be ready to go for when Isabella feels it's her time to make her grand entrance. Well, by this time my brain is fried, I'm mentally exhausted ~ so off to the admissions office I go... I walk in and the guy working in the office is playing on his iPhone (Woohoo- our tax dollars at work!). I tell him what I need to do and he says, "Oh great, more work for me," and proceeds to hand me a stack of MoRe paperwork I have to fill out. Sorry to make you work, sir!! ;) I plop down in the chair with my pen and begin filling in the blanks... Mother's name before first marriage- got it!.. Mother's address - I know this one!... then it says 'Mother's social security number.' "What the heck do they need my mom's social for?" I ask myself as I dig out my phone to call my mom.... and then it hits me- OHHHHH YEAHHHH- I'm the mother!!!! Hahaha! OOPS!! Then the same thing happened when they wanted the 'father's' information... lol- I couldn't help but giggle at myself! I'm sure the guy thought I was completely crazy by this point!! Goodness! But please let me remind you- on an empty stomach I've just drank more glucose than I usually have in a weeks time. So I finally got the paperwork done (If all of the information is correct is a wholeeee different story!). We'll see.................